for sojourners and exiles, dearly beloved (1 Pet. 2:11)

Sacraments: Law or Gospel?

The sacraments. Are they law or are they gospel? Are they something we do, or something that is done for (or upon) us? Calvin talks of the “nature of the sacraments,”

which God so instituted that believers, poor and deprived of all goods, should bring nothing to it but begging. From this it follows that in receiving the sacraments believers do nothing to deserve praise, and that even in this act (which on their part is merely passive) no work can be ascribed to them.